Black Sheep
by Velvet Quills
Summary: There were the Blacks who followed like sheep, and then there were those who were black sheep. This is a collection of random oneshots about different members of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black.
1. Orion

_Response to the Weekly Family Challenge by halffictionalprincess._

 **Prompt:** "We keep going round in circles and it's making me sick."

 **Character:** Orion Black

 **Word count:** 343

* * *

Orion admired Walburga, but he didn't know if it went farther than that. She was everything a Pureblood woman was supposed to be: beautiful, smart enough to manage the house, polite, observant. She was his second cousin, but that didn't matter. That just meant he knew for a fact how pure her blood was. He practically shared it, himself. No, it was what made her _Walburga_ \- her personality, not her actions - that gave him pause.

Orion couldn't make up his mind whether he wanted to court her or not. Despite her seeming perfection, Orion didn't know if he could keep in control, didn't know if her overbearing nature would override his status, taking the House of Black for her own. He began and dropped a courtship of her five times.

They were courting again, but Orion was almost sure, this time, that she would not be good for him. He broached the topic exactly as he had each time before: "Walburga, dear, we really need to talk." Before, Walburga had let him, when he broke off their courtship. This time, she decided that she had had enough. One of her small hands flew to cover his mouth, staying his words.

"You're right, Orion," her voice was bitter, "We _do_ need to talk. More specifically, _I_ need to talk. Orion, we keep going around in circles and it's making me sick. Just sign the marriage contract already! As it's obvious you can't make up your mind, so this is me doing it for you. I refuse to continue this way."

Orion signed the contact that week, and they were married within a year. Looking back, Orion decided that that's when he should have realized it would go so wrongly. Having his wife make up his mind for him had led to two of the five young Blacks disowned, one dead, and one imprisoned. Only one, one of his nieces, had survived Walburga to become a credit to his House. Lying on his deathbed, Orion wished he'd taken the other way out of the circle.


	2. Cygnus

_Response to the Weekly Family Challenge by halffictionalprincess._

 **Prompt:** "Happiness is not the absence of problems, it's the ability to deal with them."

 **Character:** Cygnus Black

 **Word count:** 316

* * *

It never would have crossed Cygnus's mind that one could live a life without problems. Cygnus was the youngest in his family, and always had to contend with being picked on. At home as a child, it was for his age. At school, he was barraged by self-righteous Gryffindors, who just wanted to get their hands (and hexes) on a member of a well-known Pureblood house. Later in life, he would be mocked by his compatriots for not having produced a male heir.

Cygnus never showed the strain, that weakness would have been just another sign, "Hey, dog-pile on Cygnus!" flashing over his head. Over the years, he developed an apathy for ridicule, dealing with his problems by simply shrugging and walking away.

Druella, his wife, after having witnessed one of these encounters, confronted him, aghast.

"Cygnus, how could just walk away! That was _Abraxus Malfoy_ , you know, who just said that having no sons is a sure sign of a feeble man. He's an important Lord! That could make a real problem for you, disrespecting him like that."

"Druella," Cygnus said, passively, falling back on his routine of fading away, "Abraxus Malfoy will only be a problem if I let him be. As it stands, he'll be begging me for a marriage contract between Narcissa and his son, Lucius, before the month is over. That'll make you happy, right? Happiness is not the absence of problems, it's the ability to deal with them. I've had a lifetime of dealing with problems, trust me on this one."

Cygnus was right, Abraxus did ask for the union of Lucius and Narcissa. Looking back, Cygnus saw that as just one of many instances when he'd gotten what he wanted, despite the ever-present problems. Lying on his deathbed, Cygnus was happy, knowing that he had successfully dealt with every problem that had come his way.


	3. Alphard

_Response to the Weekly Family Challenge by halffictionalprincess._

 **Prompt:** "Take great care to get what you like or you will be forced to like what you get."

 **Character:** Alphard Black

 **Word count:** 396

* * *

Alphard wanted to be different. He wanted to live without regrets. Unfortunately for him, life is full of crossroads, and there is no one who never wishes to go back and change time.

Alphard was the favorite of his mother, Irma. Walburga was too brash, Cygnus too reticent. He was the middle child, competent but not relied upon. He took time out of every day, when he was home, to sit beside her in the drawing room and listen to whatever she had to say.

One day, Alphard tried to voice his thoughts to his mother. "I am so afraid of regretting what I choose that I find it hard to choose at all," he said, "I want to be happy with my life, but..."

"But you find it hard to see what your future self will want." Irma interrupted. Alphard nodded. "My mother had something she always used to say, when I told her that," Irma went on. "I'll tell you, but I don't want you to be discouraged, okay? I lived my life around these words, and I think they're a self-fulfilling prophecy. They don't have to be true if you don't _let_ them be."

Alphard listened to his mother's words of wisdom. Then he carved his own path as the odd one out, and no one troubled him about it overmuch. Alphard didn't marry, because he simply couldn't stand any of the Pureblood women who threw themselves at him for his handsome face or deep pockets. He made friends with wizards who were politically Gray, not Dark. He lived a life of contradictions and peculiarities, but every person who spoke to him came away with one thing to say: "Alphard is a decisive man."

"Take great care to get what you like or you will be forced to like what you get." That was what Irma's mother has told her. It was probably true, but Alphard never paid it very much mind. After all, if he worried too much about what he would like, he would never get anything, or anywhere.

Alphard left all his money to Sirius, his favorite nephew. He ignored that the lad was soon to be disowned, considered the dishonor of the family. Looking back, Alphard saw he could so easily have trod that same path, himself. Lying on his deathbed, Alphard had gotten what he liked: contentment.


	4. Andromeda and Narcissa

_Response to the Dirty Minds Competition by Lucy Kent_

 **Prompt:** "It's not gonna fit _there_ , it's far too big!"

 **Characters:** Andromeda Black, Narcissa Black

 **Word count:** 139

* * *

Narcissa paused in the doorway of her sister's bedroom, watching with awe as Andromeda packed her trunk for her second year at Hogwarts. It would be another year before Narcissa would be old enough to go, so she had to live vicariously through her sisters.

Andromeda paused, nodding to the younger girl as she frowned at the large box of Honeydukes chocolates she was attempting to insert between stacks of robes and piles of textbooks.

Stepping forward to get a closer look, Narcissa turned to her sister in surprise and disbelief.

"It's not gonna fit _there_ , it's far too big!" She proclaimed, laughing at Andromeda's foolishness.

"I guess you're right," the other said, shrugging in resignation. Then, her face brightening, she turned to her sister with a smile. "I guess we'll just have to eat it now, won't we?"


End file.
